Ten tips to travel eco-consciously

It’s Earth Day today, a day to celebrate the magnificence of our planet but also a day to reflect on our impact as humans on the well-being of our planet. We haven’t been doing a very good job, but it’s never too late to improve our ways, be more aware of the delicate balance of our environment and contribute to sustaining the marvellous treasures our planet has to offer for future generations. I strongly believe that travel increases awareness and teaches us many new things about our world and its people. Unfortunately, the flip side of travelling is increased pollution in the air, on the ground and in the seas.

As travellers, we are just as responsible for the local environment as the people who live there. Our contribution to keeping the environment pristine lies in the small deeds, which we should practise wherever we are. When added up, these small every day deeds make the biggest difference. I’ve listed below ten examples of small deeds which can help us make a difference.

When booking a hotel, opt for eco-conscious hotels wherever possible. Note though that not all hotels are as eco-conscious as they promote themselves to be. Do an extra background check. What are the hotel’s eco-friendly efforts? Do they make a contribution to sustaining the environment or help the community’s sustainable practices? Is the hotel certified as eco-friendly by an independent environmental organisation?

When booking a flight ticket, check if the airline offers a CO2 emission compensation programme. You may opt to make a contribution to the programme.

If you’re hiring a car, choose one with the least CO2 emissions, such as hybrids, wherever possible.

In your hotel, re-use the towels by hanging them up after use.

Another hotel tip: re-use the sheets. Housekeeping often changes the sheets every day. You could, for instance, leave a note requesting them to just make up the bed without changing the sheets.

Save water by having a quick shower instead of a lengthy soak.

Get a sturdy water bottle which you can re-fill instead of buying new bottles of water every day. Some hotels have coffee/tea-making facilities in the room. Use the kettle to boil water in the morning and re-fill your water bottle in the evenings.

When out on the road and there are no rubbish bins around, take your trash with you and dispose them back at the hotel.

If you’re hiking through a forest, stay on the path to avoid damaging the flora.

Purchase rechargeable batteries for your electronic appliances if possible. Avoid disposing empty batteries in ordinary bins, instead look for special battery recycling collection bins. If you can’t find them at your destination, bring the batteries back with you and dispose them at your local battery recycling collection point.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Should you have more eco-conscious travel tips, please feel free to share them here.

2 Responses

Hi John,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that if we can get to a destination by another form of public transport (train or bus), we should try to. I think that if we choose to fly, we should at least endeavour to offset the emissions some way or other, whether its via the airline, a charity, a tree-planting project or cutting down on our own energy consumption at home. You’re right. The responsibility is ours and we shouldn’t count on someone else to do it for us but there’s no harm in doing it both ways I think. All little bits count.

When booking a flight the first consideration should not be offsetting. It should be is there a more sustainable way of getting there, or is there an alternative destination that suits my needs that can be got to by bus, rail etc in the time scale. If a flight proves necessary then offsetting is the last resort. You are effectively asking someone else to save the carbon dioxide for you.
You can make more of a difference by cutting down your carbon footprint from your own lifestyle. Cut down on unnecessary travel, make energy savings at home,switch to sustainable electricity, etc. Offsetting can be done via profit making companies but it is probably better to offset with a charity. Do some research, there are some real horror stories about offset projects. Just have a go with your favourite search engine if you want to learn more.